Kevin McKenzie, the artistic director of the ABT, said: 'Travel is not easy between America and Cuba, but we got our licences relatively quickly so there was clearly a willingness to make it happen on our government's part'

Cultural exchanges have become much easier under the Barack Obama administration. Earlier this year, the legendary US jazz musician Wynton Marsalis took his orchestra to Cuba, while the Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés was in New York last week